The Villainess is on a Quest - Chapter 36

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 35
“What I want is your life!”
“You’re insane.”
“If I kill you, the Empire will reclaim its glory just as he promised! And I’ll avenge my brother, who died on the battlefield!”
The Assassin’s eyes held a feverish gleam, but Aine showed no fear. She had seen such eyes countless times on the battlefield.
Keeping her wits about her, she drew a Short Dagger from her thigh and pointed it at him, but the Assassin merely laughed and swung his blade.
“Hrgh!”
“You think you can face me with that little thing?”
She barely managed to deflect what would have been a fatal slash, but the Short Dagger flew from her grip.
She had no means left to defend herself.
In this moment, helpless against his sword, the Assassin suddenly dropped his blade and lunged at her instead.
“Gack!”
“You killed my brother! My precious brother who promised he’d return alive from the battlefield — you killed him!”
His hands closed around her throat, fury blazing in his eyes. She thrashed desperately, but could not break free.
Aine had brushed death many times before, but facing what might truly be her end now, a single thought crystallized in her mind.
‘Reyci. Please. Help me.’
If he could see her from wherever he was, she begged him to come.
Could her voice reach him?
“What are you doing to my student, you bastard!”
“Argh!”
She gasped free from the grip just in time.
“Run, Commander! Get out of here!”
* * *
Emilia’s body trembled as she huddled in the shadows where Aine had pushed her.
During the Odin Era, blood and chaos had swept through the Empire as well, but Emilia, being a woman with a lower Imperial Succession Rank, had lived as safely as a flower in a garden, sheltered from the worst of it.
This was the first time in her life she faced an Assassin appearing suddenly, the first time she stared death in the face.
‘I have to run.’
Instinct screamed at her. Escape this place by any means necessary.
Perhaps it was possible now, while the Assassin’s attention was fixed entirely on Aine.
Aine, seasoned by countless battles, could surely hold her own even with that small dagger — or so Emilia told herself.
She resolved to slip away quietly and not be a hindrance.
“Gack!”
“You killed my brother! My precious brother who promised he’d return alive from the battlefield — you killed him!”
Whether from the disparity in weapons or sheer physical strength, Aine could not endure long. The Assassin soon had her pinned.
Emilia’s body went rigid. The space filled with Aine’s gasps and the Assassin’s harsh breathing.
Everything Emilia had been taught commanded her to flee without hesitation, never to attempt a rescue. Her entire education screamed at her to run.
‘No. I can’t. I won’t.’
Aine could not die here. The moment she fell, the Empire would plunge back into that endless, suffocating war.
And then Emilia remembered Cled’s face from before — the way he had smiled so happily while dancing with Aine.
The thought that she could not abandon Aine, that she could not flee alone, seized her. She grabbed a Decorative Pot from nearby.
Having resolved herself, she lifted it high and hurled it at the Assassin’s head, crying out as she did.
“What are you doing to my student, you bastard!”
“Argh!”
“Cough, cough!”
The pot struck true, and the Assassin writhed on the ground in pain.
This was their only chance. Emilia rushed to Aine’s side.
“Run, Commander! Get out of here!”
This was their only opportunity. They had to flee now. Emilia grabbed the gasping Aine and pulled her urgently away.
“You damned bitches!”
But the Assassin quickly recovered, snatching up the blade he’d dropped, and gave furious chase.
“I’ll kill you both!”
* * *
“Is anyone here! Please, help us!”
The corridor they fled through was lined with corpses.
Emilia screamed as they ran, her voice nearly breaking with desperation, begging anyone to save them. But no one answered her cries.
‘This won’t work.’
Somehow, Aine recognized that crying for help would only give away their position, and she yanked Emilia’s sleeve sharply.
“Duchess. Lower your voice.”
“Commander, but—”
“Right now, all you’re doing is drawing him toward us.”
Aine had been right. By now, the Assassin would be awake and moving about.
Aine believed this was the moment to make a decision. He would still be after her, she was certain of it. So she’d been about to suggest that Emilia hide somewhere safe.
“I’ll lure him out again this time. So if the Duchess would just—”
“Absolutely not! If I hadn’t helped you, you’d be dead right now with no way to fight back!”
“Duchess.”
But Emilia gripped Aine’s sleeve firmly and answered with resolve.
“This is a command from the Imperial bloodline. Commander. Do not leave my side under any circumstances. If you disobey this order, I will never see you again.”
Aine couldn’t bring herself to push away Emilia when she was being this stubborn, so she reluctantly nodded.
‘You don’t like me, do you?’
Yet doubt lingered. Emilia had seemed to dislike her. She could have let her die without caring.
“Damn you all! Stop skulking about like cowards and show yourselves!”
But survival came first now. The Assassin’s voice echoed dangerously close.
“Very well. I’ll do as you say. But Duchess—remove your shoes.”
“Now? We need to flee! Quickly!”
“Please, take them off. Duchess.”
Emilia insisted they had to escape at once, but when Aine didn’t budge, she let out a sigh and removed her shoes.
“Wear mine instead.”
“But what about you, Commander?”
“I’ve run barefoot before—it’s fine. Besides, if you keep wearing those shoes, you’ll struggle to run away.”
Emilia couldn’t deny the logic. Running fast in heels wasn’t practical.
Even when they did escape, she would struggle to ignore the pain in her feet.
“I’ll trust your judgment.”
So Emilia changed into Aine’s shoes and moved quickly.
“Where should we go?”
“Outside the Mansion first. It’ll be safer out there than here, Duchess.”
* * *
Cled felt a terrible exhaustion as he returned from his summons to the Imperial Palace.
At first, he’d thought nothing unusual. Only concern for Aine, who would stand before everyone, and anxiety about what was to come.
But strangely, as the date drew nearer, his heart wouldn’t settle.
‘I’ve never felt this way before.’
Growing up in the Imperial Palace, he’d attended so many banquets he couldn’t count them on both hands.
For the Imperial family, such events felt as mundane as daily life. But from the moment he’d danced with Aine in perfect rhythm, something shifted.
The thought of dancing with her, dressed beautifully at his side, made his chest stir in ways he couldn’t explain.
He questioned himself—why was this happening? Was there something about her that unsettled him? But no answer came.
He simply waited for that day to pass. One thing was certain: this imminent banquet was the cause.
Cled pictured Aine—her red hair, her ash-gray eyes, the image of her in a dress beside him.
“Your Highness! An emergency!”
The vision shattered. The carriage lurched to a halt, and his escort’s voice came urgent and desperate.
“An assassin has infiltrated the Mansion! Your Highness, you must flee! Your Highness! Your Highness!”
The moment he heard those words, Cled leaped from the carriage and rushed toward the Mansion.
‘Of all times, why did I have to be away now?’

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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